Why Is Mng Cheaper Than Used?

I came across the pricing for stamp #292 from PSE. I was puzzled by the question why the MNG is cheaper than used? Couldn't I just put some ink on the corner of a MNG to forge a used stamp easily?

People do. Fortunately they usually get caught, it's not as easy as it sounds. Back in the day people used all kinds of things to put stamps into albums, so there are a fair number of unused stamps fro0m when they were removed from them. But a nice used example is not as common.

@revcollector

thanks for your comments

TangStamps, to elaborate on what revcollector said, the unused, high value classic stamps were saved by collectors. There probably are not a great number of sound, "correctly" used (1898-1902 cancel dates, or identifiable as such ) #292s around.

I am not a U.S.specialist, but I would think that high values of the Trans-Mississippi and Columbian stamps used around the time of their issuance are much sought after. I used the term "correctly" to mean used during the 2-5 years I am guessing they were available in some post offices.

On those high value stamps the cancels are largely those big, ugly parcel cancels.
Don

I've noticed that as well and sometimes on some stamps they are higher than mint. Of course it depends on what stamp it is for that. Like revcollector said its supply and demand. The supply is little and the demand for those is higher. Cancelled ones that look nice are not that common.

The "cancel" ink you put on today is easily detectable under blacklight. You'd be stuck with a stamp in the Twilight Zone that would have been better left alone.

What's submitted to the experts aren't ones with blot or real heavy cancels, either; the grading would reflect that. Keep in mind a lot of the nicely cancelled Trans-Miss and Columbian high values might have come from stamp dealer controlled mail (i.e. the recipient sends the postage back to the sender so to get usage and used stamps). More for the Columbians, this could have happened in the 1920s where they were such a glut on the market, the high values were sold as discounted postage.